Opinion

Earlier this month, the DC Council passed an emergency crime bill that it knows will not actually reduce crime. This kind of political theater is commonplace come summer, when elected officials recognize the dearth of learning and…

The DC Board of Elections released its formal ruling earlier this week, making official its declaration that the Make All Votes Count Act of 2024 is a proper subject for a ballot initiative. That decision is reckless and without…

On the surface, ranked choice voting (RCV) may seem like an egalitarian policy. According to advocates, it would ensure that political candidates would be more accountable to voters and more women and people of color would get elected. …

The doublespeak by DC elected leaders and the massive level of government mismanagement they have allowed or enabled through professional neglect is breathtaking. Nevertheless, they have deflected responsibility and accountability, blaming…

Adams Morgan has a complicated relationship with alcohol. While many love the neighborhood for its nightlife offerings, others find its bars and restaurants to be nuisances worth restricting. And for decades, Adams Morgan has been the…

Turning 18 for most young people means newfound freedom — being able to vote, graduating high school, and starting their adult lives. For some 17-year-olds living in the District of Columbia, however, turning 18 means the opposite: They…

That question seems a legitimate concern, considering the near-illogical demand Ward 1 Councilmember Brianne Nadeau makes in her proposed emergency legislation expected to be considered Tuesday during the DC Council’s next legislative…

When I learned of recent funding cuts and spending prohibitions for key District programs and services preliminarily imposed by House Republicans on the Financial Services and General Government Subcommittee, the horror movie Invasion of…

“Close the racial wealth gap” was the phrase du jour last week at DC Council Chair Pro Tempore Kenyan McDuffie’s public hearing on the Reparations Foundation Fund and Task Force Establishment Act of 2023. That slogan may work well as a…

The debate around School Resource Officers (SROs) in DC schools and elsewhere has become increasingly divisive. The District funds SROs, but not in every school. In 2021, the DC Council voted to remove police from schools completely by…

Before my friend and activist Tony De Pass died of colon cancer, he often boasted, during frequent and blistering critiques about the intelligence deficit of America’s political class, that he owed his intellectual heft to the excellent…

The District of Columbia has been on a roll over the last decade to make early childhood education more affordable and equitable. From universal pre-K to the Birth-to-Three law, the District is a national leader viewed by other states as a…

When a storm hits, the most vulnerable are often those who live in the lowest-income, highest-risk areas, without the financial means to escape or mitigate the damage. So it’s apt that DC Mayor Muriel Bowser noted when unveiling her…

Some people have become accustomed to vote trading in national and local politics. There is the belief that such transactions lead to securing compromises on critical issues. But do they? And should that behavior extend to…

The $19.7 billion Fiscal Year 2024 Budget and Financial Plan submitted earlier this year by Mayor Muriel Bowser demonstrates her administration’s chaotic and shortsighted public policy development coupled with poor thinking around…

Anyone following local DC affairs will tell you this is a surprisingly tough budget year for the District. Just two months ago, the District’s independent chief financial officer lowered revenue projections by almost $400 million. Combined…

It’s fair to say that few DC elected officials or residents are happy with Mayor Muriel Bowser’s proposed budget for next year. DC Council Chair Phil Mendelson characterized the mayor’s proposal as containing “budget choices that set back…

Chances are that if you ask a policymaker to describe the District of Columbia's early childhood system, most will talk at length about the essentialness of child care. This is especially likely during a budget debate when there are…

It’s the height of budget oversight season in the District of Columbia, and while preparing to testify on behalf of incarcerated DC residents — the individuals served by the nonprofit I co-founded called More Than Our Crimes — I have found…

Perhaps it started as a joke, with Mayor Muriel Bowser telling at-large DC Council member Robert White that emergency legislation he was proposing to reduce an upcoming 8.9% hike for apartments in rent-controlled buildings in the District…